Beer: Reviews & Ratings

A: The beer is clear amber yellow in color and has a slight amount of visible carbonation. It poured with a finger and a half high frothy off white head that took a long time to die down, but never completely faded away. S: Light to moderate amounts of citrusy and grassy hops are present in the nose. T: The taste shares some similarities to the smell, starting off with initial flavors of light citrusy hops and finishing with slightly stronger flavors of grassy hops that linger into the finish. There is a light amount of bitterness. M: It feels medium-bodied and a little crisp on the palate with a moderate amount of carbonation. O: The grassy hops in this beer make it unique compared to other beers in the style.

Appearance: Arrives crystal clear amber with a modest cap that fades without leaving much lace

Smell: Floral, with hints of pith and grass

Taste: All about the hops from the start, with floral and tropical flavors in the forefront - orange, apricot and a hint of mango; grassy and pithy elements arrive later, providing a rather bitter finish

Mouthfeel: Light to medium body with moderate carbonation

Overall: I would characterize this as a Summer IPA, with a light mouthfeel and a dry finish; nice, though I would prefer some bolder hop flavors (550 characters)

Cincinnati has always been a town to celebrate its brewing history. But with surprisingly poor beer culture, that history has largely circulated around the industrial lagers and without regard to the quality of craft beer... until now. And it looks like MadTree Brewing Company will be a part of the new movement, that is if they can continue to make beers like their flagship IPA!

PsycHOPathy pours a honey-gold color and shows absolute bright clarity as the beer settles and the foam separates. Capped with a frothy white hat, the beer retains stubbornly and clings the the glass with broken lacy rings. While much clearer than I expect dry-hopped beers to be and a tinge lighter in color than the norm- the beer's filtered character creates a charming appearance but isn't necessary.

Bright and zesty aromas are led by citrusy American hops, distinguishable grapefruit and orange peels, mild chivy herbs, and soft tropical esters all seem to be of fresh field-sliced sweetness because of the supple caramel and honey-sweet floral scent that brings this whole bouquet to life.

Early sweetness is supple and savory and arrives to greet the early palate just before the hops grow to take command of the taste. Starting fruity with oranges and apricots, a slight jammy taste resides. But deeper into the taste, its the turn to grapefruit-type that brings about the bitterness of citrus oils, pith and zest until the beer nose dives into a resinous pine bitterness to finish.

Medium bodied, the beer's early carbonation and residual sweetness lingers slightly before trailing quickly to favor hop dryness, grain sharpness, and alcohol warmth. Though quite dry, the beer doesn't deliver on the premiere dry texture a hop glory that I so wanted in this IPA.

MadTree's IPA will certainly quench the thirst of the most discriminating Hop Head. It's a refreshing and clean hop-dominant ale, but it needs a little more aggression in the "bitter" and "dry" departments to become truly irresistible. (1,994 characters)

Nose brings a nice hop aroma, though a bit lighter than I expected as far as strength goes. It brings a nice floral note, with some citrus, a little stone fruit, mild grassy notes, mild pith like and even a bit resinous, also a nice tangerine as it warms, all that with a hint of a sweet candy malt base.

taste comes on with a big hop base, and what seems like malts but comes through bone dry. Hops are the main attraction again, with more citrus and a little resin, mild grapefruit pith with a bit more tangerine, a hint of a stone fruit note, mild grassy slightly herbal hops that also hint at a touch of mint in the background. There is a mild reddish toasty malt presence in there, but no sweetness as it seems almost overly attenuated, the balance is long gone. The hops turn a bit spicy and chewy on the back end, and especially on the super dry finish, as the hops really linger with bitterness it gets a little astringent and tongue nagging bitter, which is not necessarily a bad thing if you love super hoppy bitter beers.

Mouth is med bod, lots of nice fluffy carbonation, very dry.

Overall quite nice, enjoyable tasty hops, with enough body to back it up despite the lack of sweetness or much of a malt profile. That being said, perhaps a bit over-attenuated as it lacks any sort of balance and the rampant hops just destroy your palate. Still a pretty nice beer. (1,703 characters)

Ah, The CANQuest (tm) is an unCANtrollable beast these days! I unleashed it, thinking that I CAN CANtrol its movements, only to realize that the CAN wags the man and NOT vice versa. It is driving me mad!

From the CAN: "Madness in a CAN. Embrace the madness. Embrace the CANs."; "Drink Hoppy"; "The "; "Illustration: Margaret Weiner [;] Treemark: Christopher Daniel [;] CAN Design: John Pattison".

I heard a nice loud Crack! and as I CANmenced the Glug, I was forcefully interrupted by two nice gentlemen in white coats who put me into an I-Love-Me jacket and hauled me off to LGH for PsycHOPathy in a lovely padded, rubber room. I explained to my roommate, Norman Bates, that just like him, I wouldn't hurt a fly. I have been known to kill a beer or two, as Mother CAN attest, but mad? Me? Drinking a Winter Warmer in the summer isn't a crime. It gave me time to reflect back on the finger of foamy, off-white head that developed and then fell, leaving nice lacing in its wake. I remember well its Golden-Amber color (SRM = > 5, < 7) with its NE-quality clarity and how those Golden Madmen, Croesus, Mammon and Midas paid me a visit. Perhaps they will visit me here as I am told that I am on an extended stay. I CANsider the whiff of succulent hops that I got upon putting my nose in the glass as they burst in my front door and my mouth waters. The mouthfeel was medium-to-full and I initially CANfused it with a DIPA as they wrested the glass from my hands. Looking back, the intensity of the hops may have been what precipitated my howling like a wolf in heat, but it simply could not be helped! The various flavors as outlined on the CAN just took 'hold like nothing else. "Floral, grassy, and citrus", indeed! Why don't they put warning labels on these CANs? I must ask my PsycHOPathist during our next session. The finish was dry. Gaspingly dry, although in fairness, that may have been due to the chokehold that was being applied to my throat. Ooh, they are coming with a syringe! I do hope that it is filled with hop oil as I am beginning to jones and need a fix. Please, sir, CAN I have another? (2,114 characters)

32 ounce growler. Served in a pint glass, the beer pours a mostly clear dark gold color with some orange tints and about an inch and a half off-white head. Head retention and lacing are both good. The aroma is nice, the brew smells mostly like floral and citrusy (orange peel, grapefruit) hops, and some bready malt. It tastes like floral/herbal hops, citrusy (grapefruit, mango, citrus peel) hops, and some caramel and bready malt. There's also a nice bitter hoppy finish. Mouthfeel/body is medium, it's a bit slick with moderate carbonation. I think it's a good IPA, I wouldn't mind picking this up again. Worth trying for sure! (630 characters)

Pours a dirty earthy orange, with a half inch head, and a little bit of lacing.

Smells fairly citrusy, with some lemon zest and pine leading the way.

This tastes fairly good, but it's got a fairly watery middle, that leaves the flavors falling a bit flat. There's something missing. The notes of pine, citrus, grass, and a bit of caramel malt do taste good, they just don't pop like I know they should.

The body on this one is light, with a crisp but slightly watery mouthfeel, as mentioned above. There is a moderate amount of carbonation.

This falls just a bit short, some tweaks and it would be excellent. (659 characters)

The beer pours out in a light clear yellow color with a hint of orange in there. It pours out with a 2-3 finger rocky head with some sticking on the glass.

The aroma is killer. Tons of big sweet tropical and citrus fruit. You get mango, pineapple, and just tons and tons of sweet sweet tangerine, peach, orange. There’s a bit of sweet caramel malt in the back too, but it’s mostly that big fruity aroma.

The flavor hits your tongue first some bitterness, then there’s tons of roundy fruity flavors. You get that citrus and mango and tropical. Then the beer hits you hard with that really strong dry, grapefruit pith bitterness. It’s quite strong, but refreshing as well. That truly is the highlight of the beer. It pops up on you and is so refreshing.

There’s a good balance with this beer because of the bready malt in the middle, but it’s not overly sweet and balances quite well with the hops, while still being a hugely hop bomb.

Unfortunately there’s no date on this beautiful lime green can, but it sure tasted fresh.

This was a pleasantly amazing surprise for an extra from a beer trade. Wow, this stuff is killer. For context, I would say this pushes towards more than clean hop, but sweet malty IPA. This is definitely less sweet and more of that strong longing bitterness than 60 Minute. I would actually say it’s just a better made version of that beer. (1,387 characters)

Good couple fingers of head, held for a spell then tapered off into a lite beautiful layer.Citrusy lemon zest meets grapefruit, a bit piney meets grassy. Some bready malt comes through nicely.Taste starts with citrus, goes to grassy and then bready malt that takes a backseat to an earthy bitterness. Crisp yet slightly resiny on the finish.Overall, quite good. I will seek this out again. (434 characters)

A: Slightly hazy burnished gold color, with many fine bubbles streaming up and a snow-white head and lacing.S: Highly citrusy hop aroma.T: High bitterness with citrus hop flavor, which doesn't completely hide the candy-sweet malt, though it certainly dries out a bit in the finish.M: Light bodied given the strength, lots of carbonation.

A - It pours a brilliant amber color and is crystal clear. It is topped with two inches of off-white head.

S - The smell has some faint citrus and tropical fruit aromas. I even get a little juniper, but the smells are not strong. The aromas are good, but weak.

T - The taste starts out with weak citrus and barely perceptible tropical fruit. As I consume the taste grows with each subsequent drink. A pine finish become apparent. I was disappointed at first but this beer is growing on me the more I drink it.

M - Moderate to thin.

O - This is one of the easiest drinking IPA's that I have had. I could drink this all day. The flavor is subtle enough to not overwhelm the palate after a couple beers. But that being said, it is not an IPA that a single serving would satisfy my craving for hops. The taste makes it great for having a few, but lacking in enough flavor for cravings. (927 characters)

PsycHOPathy came to the table a very light gold in color. A one finger, snow white head on top. The aroma was outstanding. Big, juicy hop aromas. Oranges, grapefruit, some generic tropical fruit aromas.

I loved this beer. Lots of late addition hopping is evident. The malt profile is subtle and provides a great base for the abundance of hops. Not overly bitter for such a full flavored IPA. Quite refreshing for such a hoppy beer. Dry, light, and well carbonated. Finishes incredibly quickly and has you craving another drink. Alcohol is well masked.

Overall, I'm incredibly impressed. I can't wait until the cans begin hitting local stores. This may become a staple in my fridge. Well done MadTree. I can't wait to try more of your beers. (812 characters)

A - Pours a neutral amber color with excellent clarity. A firm pour into the center of the glass yields a thick finger of frothy white head with very good staying power. Sheets of lacing left all over the sides of the glass. Good looking beer.

S - A bit buttery, very earthy, malty sweetness, caramel malt, a bit grassy...not what I was expecting. Hops are very muted overall.

O - Not sure how old this can is...I'm guessing it is not the freshest can around. Probably not giving this beer a fair shake. Would like to try again to see what a fresh can is all about...this one just has a dull IPA flavor that is lacking in hop character and not that impressive. (1,006 characters)

Reviewed from notes. Had at Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati for the game with the Cardinals. Poured from a 12 oz. can into a plastic cup (unfortunately, the only available option).

A: Nice gold with a bit of haze apparent. One finger worth of white head, and some good active carbonation visible.

S: Pine resin and citrus hops, very light biscuit malt and just a touch of grassiness.

T: Big citrus (grapefruit and lemon rind) and pine hops. A nice bready malt, but one that completely loses the flavor battle against the strong hoppiness for a (single) IPA. Light bitterness lasts into the hang.

M: Light body, a rather bubbly mouthfeel for an IPA, and low alcohol presence.

O: I was trying real hard to be realistic about this one, as it was the right beer at the right time at a beautiful night to watch a ballgame. But it was quite good. Never had anything else from this brewery, but they've got me interested. It's a level down from the elite of the class, but certainly a solid beer. Recommended. (1,013 characters)

Pours a slightly hazy medium gold with a one finger, thick white head.

The hops in this really smack you in the face with lemon/lime and tropical citrus notes. There is really a lot of grass that comes through as well. Just the slightest bit of vanilla too.

Creamy lemon and lime in the flavor followed by some juicy tropical fruit; closely follows the aroma. Very crisp bitterness wit enough malt to keep the hops from being overwhelming. Everything cleans up very nicely towards the finish with some light bread and just the tiniest bit of sweetness.

Overall, a very good IPA from a smallish regional brewery. Impressive from a young brewery and really deserves to be better known. (715 characters)

Much thanks to my friends Richard and Alanna for grabbing me this brew.

A: Pale yellow straw in color, with good clarity and a nice amount of white rocky head on top.

S: Pine and grapefruit peel with small notes of orange peel as well. There may even be a hint of lemon balm in there. Nice super clean hoppy smell, not a lot as far as caramel sweetness. Smells nice.

T: Clean bitterness with grapefruit being the predominant flavor. Some pine and light citrus. Not a lot as far as a malt profile goes.

M: Fairly light body, in fact a little too light. There is a nice dryness to it, but leaves the mouth wanting a bit of gravity. There is a slight oily feel from the hops and certainly an assertive bitterness.

O: The alcohol is in there somewhere, but it isn't too obvious. For me the flavor is a little one note, it's hoppy, and that's about it. It's bordering on a little watery for me, and the lack of malt flavor makes it seem like a one trick pony. (962 characters)

Pours golden with a nice white head. Aroma offers citrus juice and its rind, florals, pine, and some baked bread. Flavor follows suit and dangerously sessionable. A crisp, active mouthfeel. Overall, further proof that Ohio knows how to brew a great IPA. I couldn't stop drinking this one during my trip in Cincinnati and had to bring a sixer back home with me. Great stuff, I wish I had access to this one all the time. Would be a staple in my fridge for sure. (460 characters)